Rolling Worship Review

1/9/2013

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Rolling Worship has now been in operation for two and a half years, and it's time to review how it's going.  You may have opinions about 9.30, 10.30, 11.30, the breaks, the children's and young people's work, or the music.  You may wish to suggest changes, or you may wish to say that you don't think a certain aspect should change.  Either way, we want to hear from you.
There are three ways you can make your voice heard:
a)  You could write a note and put it in the box at the back of church.
b)  You could leave a note on the big noticeboard 
c)  You could leave your comments here - just click on the word 'comment' and type away.
However you contribute, we promise that when a group meets on Jan 26 it will read every comment you make.  The group will consider every aspect of Rolling Worship, and out of their contributions we will compose a proposal that will go to the PCC in February.  Any changes suggested are likely to be implemented from the beginning of May.  Do speak to us if you would like to know more.
Thank you,
Travers Harpur, Stephanie Gillingham and Andy Griffiths (Review Group)"
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Visiting Brentwood

5/13/2012

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Since I last wrote, three Sundays have come and gone, and I've been to four churches: Chelmsford Community Church, Danbury Mission, Holy Trinity Springfield and Immanuel Brentwood.  The one I thought the church in Galleywood might most obviously learn from is Immanuel, so here is the account of my visit.

Immanuel is a newly planted Anglican congregation meeting in Brentwood High School. It has two forty-five minute approx 'slices' (as we would call them).

At 9.30 there's 'Sunday School' for all, in four groups (0-4 yrs, 5-11, 12-17 and adults). There is no music, and the adult teaching is very systematic (using Wayne Grudem's Systemaitc Theology). There was a ten-minute section in the middle in which we were given a bible passage to discuss with our neighbours. I was interested to learn that my neighbours used to attend a homegroup, but now felt that the 'adult Sunday School' did all the things they used to go to their homegroup for - with high quality children's provision going on at the same time! Then there is a 30-minute coffee break; I was made to feel very welcome, and we were all given badges to wear with our names on.

At 10.45 all-age worship begins. I was surprised that there was even less liturgy than at Galleywood (a printed confession was literally the only written prayer), that there were no intercessions as such, and that I knew none of the songs at all - from the authors' names (DA Carson, Michael W Smith, Bob Kauflin, Keith Getty) I assume that they are from the 'New Reformed' stream in the US. There was a small band (one keyboardist, one guitarist, one drummer and a vocalist whose volume was much louder than we ever experience in Galleywood). About 30 children and 70 adults, including a few retired people and some of student age, were present.The most encouraging thing was the number of children who stayed present and, as far as I could tell, engaged throughout, with activity packs handed to them. The minister was giving the talk, and it was clear from the way the children surged to surround him that he has a very good rapport with them; the talk consciously included them ('it's like when you're in the playground and someone pushes you and hurts you ...') but was still a credible short exposition of the bible passage.

Questions for us in Galleywood: how do we make sure that our 11.30 all-generation worship engages our young families as well as Immanuel engages theirs? Is it worth us introducing a badge system? Should including questions for discussion during 'learning slices' be the norm for us? Feel free to contribute your views!
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Moravian Worship

4/26/2012

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As you may know, part of my task for my Extended Study Leave is to investigate the Order of the Mustard Seed and the early Moravian movement, a missions movement originating in Herrnhut and Berthelsdorf in SE Germany in the early eighteenth century, where I'll shortly be going on pilgrimage.  Imagine my surprise to read the following words in Colin Podmore's The Moravian Church in England, 1728-1760, pp147-149:

"Each element of Moravian worship formed a separate service."  The was the Bible Hour; there was the "quarter hour" (extempore preaching "from the heart"); there was the communion; there was the "liturgy meeting" (liturgical prayer and intercession); there was the lovefeast (a shared meal of tea and buns that included games and the celebration of birthdays); and there were the "singing services." 

They had Rolling Worship!  Moravian leaders were concerned in the 1750s that people were coming to the singing services and not getting any teaching!
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Rolling Worship

4/24/2012

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I went to Rolling Worship on Sunday.  No, not at Galleywood: at St John's Hillingdon in west London, the first church to adopt Rolling Worship.

I was warmly welcomed, and actually, although I'd never visited before, it did feel remarkably like "home".  It was like visiting the mother-ship.

I arrived at 10am, so I just missed "songs of praise", which is largely traditional hymns without much liturgy, from 9.30-10.  When I arrived there were around 50 adults in church; I was later to discover that there were around 10 children in their children's groups, which take place during the 10am slice.

The 10-10.30 slice is called "understanding our faith" - very similar to our "slice 2" teaching slice, though with two hymns.  This week the theme for the Sunday was "brothers and sisters".  The transition between this slice and the next was a chance to discuss with our neighbours how we can be better brothers and sisters; those around me were clearly going out of their way to make sure I was included in the group.

From 10.30-11 there was a service of communion.  The children rejoined us for this, but to my surprise there were no songs or activities designed to include them; they simply congregated at the back.  One thing that really impressed me was the way the adult congregation seemed so tolerant of the children running around and talking; it simply wasn't an issue.   This slice was the one most unlike what we do at Galleywood; not least because there was only one congregational song, whereas our communion slice is mainly in song; on the other hand, the whole communion liturgy was used "straight" (straighter than I do it, anyway).  As far as I could see, no one left at the beginning of the communion slice, and a couple of additional adults arrived.

11-11.30 was refreshment time.  I introduced myself to the Vicar, Rob, and Kath, who is one of the Commissioned Ministers (the equivalent of Readers in London Diocese) and is also Rob's wife.  It was clear that this is the time most of the "coming and going" takes place - almost nobody not on staff or in the band stayed on, and a new group (around 30 adults and 12 children) arrived.

11.30-12 is all-age worship, and here I was completely at home; this felt very similar to our 11.30 slice, though with a much bigger band! Children were well engaged, and there was good banter between the slice leader and members of the congregation.

12-12.30 is "exploring faith together", an interactive informal communion service without music.  We started by gathering around the table - by this stage some of those there for the 11.30 slice had gone, so I guess there were 15 adults and 12 children.  We went round the circle sharing information for prayer, and the children all lit a candle and served the bread and wine.  Then we got into discussion groups to talk about being better brothers and sisters; most people contributed to the conversation.  Children had their own separate discussion group, led by the Vicar, in a different portion of the main worship space.

12.30-1 (yes, Rolling Worship was still continuing) was lunch, with a birthday cake and song for one of the church members. Over lunch, Rob and I shared our experiences of Rolling Worship and mused about whether we should have some sort of get-together for the Rolling Worship churches (there are now 4 in the UK) next year.

Here are four things I thought were worth thinking about borrowing for our own Rolling Worship:
1) We probably need to be more relaxed about children being present.  They will make noise, but that needn't bother us. As a proportion of the congregation, there are actually MORE children at John's Hillingdon than at Galleywood, and I wasn't clear that their church is better equipped than ours (just one room available for children's work outside the main worship space).  Half of the children present in church came "early", half "late". 
2) We don't HAVE to have a refreshment break between all our slices.
3) Maybe we should be starting to create more "unchanging" items.  For example, the opening songs of each slice are the same every week - and have been since 2007.  This gives each slice a "brand identity" of its own.  And having each child light a candle and state a person or topic for prayer is a weekly ritual, too.
4) There's obviously a bit more joint planning going on in Hillingdon than in Galleywood.  Every Monday, the speakers, lead musicians and slice leaders for the next Sunday but one get together to craft the service - ie 13 days before the Sunday concerned.   Could we do the same?

If you're visiting this site from Hillingdon, or if you're at Galleywood, I'd love to hear your comments.  What do you think are the lessons to learn?
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Galleywood is generous

4/22/2012

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This autumn there have been at least five opportunities for Galleywood Church members to give to the world.  They’ve been extremely generous and I’m really proud of them!

* Our Harvest service featured Leo and Lily, goats from Lathcoats Farm on Beehive Lane, who were great fun and helped us think about what a difference goats could make to Tanzania.  In response, members gave over £1500 to World Vision; enough for over 80 goats; enough to transform the economy of an African village.

  *In November, our secondary school students (Upwards and MEGA) had a cake sale at church and raised £160 for The Leprosy Mission – enough to feed everyone in Nepal’s largest hospital for 4½ days!

 *Also in November, a packed church gave over £250 to the British Legion on Remembrance Day.

*Our Carol Service in aid of Helen Rollason cancer care raised ...., our open air nativity and carol singing in aid of .... raised ....

*And all this is in addition to the more than £6000 a year the church gives as a matter of course to good causes both in the UK and around the world.

Galleywood is generous – we’ve proved it!   
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Exciting Progress for Our Big Project

12/12/2011

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Mike Arnold writes:

This spring, St Michael’s Church will take two exciting steps towards priorities set in Our Big Project, these being:

1.                  Installing a semi-permanent additional building (a shed!) adjacent to the north of the church for use by children’s groups.

2.                  Installing modern audio visual media equipment in the vicars’ vestry for use by children’s and youth groups.

Just imagine:

*in the new building the children will have learning opportunities with no worries about noise or space. Exciting and meaningful activities can occur, to inspire our younger church members.

* in the vestry a wide range of media will be used to help the children and youth grow in God’s love and we all know how well our youngsters respond to modern media. There will be no limit on the exciting opportunities this will create.

Also, this will ease pressure on the adult congregation during Rolling Worship in terms of space and noise.  In addition the new building may be used for storage or administrative work and the new media equipment will be available for use by other groups in non-service times.

Our Big Project’s first priorities were set by the PCC to develop our work with the children and youth groups and to install modern media facilities. These exciting developments will do just this.

Meanwhile a project manager has been appointed, with a brief to produce a building development plan for the next stage of Our Big Project.

More details can be found on the church website www.stmichaelsgalleywood.org.uk

Mike Arnold
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Vicar to be away for three months

12/8/2011

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Every ten years, vicars get to spend three months having “extended study leave”.  It’s not a holiday, but it is a chance to explore other interests.  I was ordained in 2000, and I’ll be taking my extended study leave from April 9 to July 8 2012.

“What will you be doing?”

*At the invitation of a publisher, I’ll be writing a short book called “Two into One” about how we brought Church on the Common and Church at the School together in 2010.

*I’ll be joining something called the Order of the Mustard Seed- it’s not sinister, it’s just a group of people who vow to live by a “rule of life”.  As part of this process I’ll be travelling to Herrnhut in SE Germany.

*I’ll be visiting our sister church in Poland, and writing and delivering a series of lectures about “being a church in your culture” in Paris.

“So who’ll be in charge when you go?”

*Responsibility for the “spiritualities” (worship, evangelism, prayer, preaching, the sacraments) will be delegated to Stephanie Gillingham, our very able Curate.

*Whether I’m here or not, the care of the physical church building and the maintenance of order within it remain the responsibility of the churchwardens, Anne Gardner and Derek Martin.

*Most other things in the life of the church are the responsibility of the PCC, the elected church council.  I don’t chair this anyway – Phil Preston does – and the PCC will continue without missing a beat when I’m away. 

I look forward to telling everyone all about it in July!

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Introducing the South Chelmsford Mustard Seed

12/5/2011

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300 Years of the Order of the Mustard Seed

 

In 1715, five teenagers at the Halle Academy in Germany founded the “Order of the Mustard Seed”.  They swore a vow not to live for themselves, to be true to Christ, to be kind to people, and to take the gospel to the nations; and they adopted a set of spiritual practices to which they kept each other accountable.  Out of that vow grew

·         A renewal movement within the Lutheran church
·         Europe’s first ecumenical movement (the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris and the Lutheran King of Denmark all became members of the Order)
 ·         A 100-year-long 24 hours a day, 7days a week prayer meeting at Herrnhut in Saxony
 ·         And the Moravian movement which sent several hundred missionaries around the world.  The echoes from this movement influenced the creation of Methodism in the UK, the Great Awakening in the US, and even the fight against apartheid in South Africa. 

The best-known of the five friends was Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf. 

In the early 21st century a group of young Christian leaders, including Pete Greig (now on the staff of Holy Trinity Brompton, London) and Phil Anderson (now a local councillor in Thurrock) “re-launched” the Order of the Mustard Seed in the UK.  Key texts are Greig’s The Vision and the Vow, Anderson’s The Lord of the Ring (which tells the story of Zinzendorf and the Mustard Seed Order) and the website www.mustardseedorder.com


Four Central Commitments

 1.  “None of us live for ourselves”

These are the words, from Romans 14.7, to be written on a ring worn by the members of the order.  At a time when much church discussion seems to be based on acting for the sake of ourselves (so that we can pay our bills or have the right deployment of clergy or have the style of worship we feel we deserve), this may be the key commitment to make.  If we are a sort of club, we will be a club that exists for the sake of our non-members.

2.  “We will be true to Jesus”

Authenticity will mean something different in different settings and at different stages of life, but being true to Jesus will always be central.  This corresponds to one half of the Great Commandment – to love the Lord our God with our whole being.

3.  “We will be kind to people”

This is a way of expressing the second half of the Great Commandment – to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.   Christianity is a relational religion – and Jesus defined “neighbour” to include those we most strongly disagree with!

4.  “We will take the gospel to the nations”

The Order of the Mustard Seed has always been unashamed to be missional, in obedience to the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and make disciples...”

 

It’s not a better Way

Not all Christians are called to take vows or to join a group that lives by a Way of Life, and those who discern that this is the right step for them are not more spiritual or more “advanced” than those who do not.  So this is not a recruitment drive.  It’s just that I sense this is the right way for me, and I wanted to see if there were some others in the area who were interested too. 

 And it’s not under the sign of the mustard seed for nothing.  It aims to die unspectacularly to itself and be buried for the sake of fruitfulness. 



Other Ways are Available

 There are other groups, communities and orders aiming to do similar things.  In particular, a regional group of the Community of Aidan and Hilda are meeting in the area.  The Community of Aidan and Hilda is a dispersed ecumenical new monastic community of people living by a Way of Life inspired by the witness of the Celtic saints –www.aidanandhilda.org.  For more information contact Rev Carol Smith at St Luke’s Church, Moulsham- [email protected].  If and when the South Chelmsford Mustard Seed gets off the ground, it will cooperate with the Community of Aidan and Hilda to the fullest extent possible.

 


Who I am and how I’m involved

My name’s Andy Griffiths.  I’ve been Vicar at Galleywood for over 6 years, and Rural Dean of Chelmsford South for 5 years.  Before that I’ve worked in France and Hungary, and been in leadership positions both in New Churches and Anglican ones.  I’ve become increasingly convinced that God was calling me to get involved with a local expression of the Order of the Mustard Seed, but that doesn’t mean “running it”, only being a secretary and point of contact.  (To quote the eighteenth century Mustard Seed document, “Every member of the Order is equal in status. When someone is acting as the “secretary”, they are there to be a contact point and to handle correspondence but not to take authority.”)  In 2012, as part of some extended study leave, I have arranged a “pilgrimage” for myself, visiting Herrnhut, Tubingen and other sites, and researching the Order of the Mustard Seed further.  Phil Anderson at Thurrock, author of The Lord of the Ring , has kindly agreed to act as an informal consultant.

 

An Invitation to a Way of Life

The Order of the Mustard Seed has no leader, no structure, no paid employees, no physical base, no hidden agendas and no membership lists.  There is extremely low control.  You cannot send it money even if you wanted to.  Its website (www.mustardseedorder.com), is not regularly updated and has no space for you to post on it.  It has a charism of randomness.

Nevertheless, thisblog post is an invitation: if you live within reach of South Chelmsford, is God calling you to be part of establishing an expression of the Order of the Mustard Seed in this area in 2012?  This call is open to all who seek to follow Jesus, whatever church or denomination you are part of, and whether you’re new to Christian faith or already a senior pastor.

In a first phase, starting summer 2012, we would meet together once a month for a year or so and help each other compose a “Way of Life” true to the four central commitments.  For each person, this would be likely to include

·         a daily rhythm (some people commit themselves to prayer in the morning, at noon and in the evening, perhaps using http://dailyprayersformoravians.wordpress.com/ or www.moravian.org/daily_texts/)

·         an annual rhythm (some people have an annual retreat or pilgrimage)

·         spiritual disciplines (for some, this might involve hospitality, letter-writing, political campaigning, volunteering, financial commitments or regular fasting).

No two Ways of Life would be identical, and no one would have the right to tell you your Way of Life is the wrong one for you!  But it will help to have brothers and sisters to support you as you craft yours.  We may also want to organise “prayer events” in the spirit of Herrnhut.

Then in a year or so, if we’re still sure God is calling us to this, we’ll be ready to take our vows – and wear our rings.  (There is a form of words on www.mustardseedorder.com, but we can write our own).  The vows are permanent.

After we take the vows, the group would continue to meet periodically to keep one another accountable.  This isn’t just another bible study group – we will have given each other the permission to see how our spiritual lives are going.

If you’re interested in exploring this further, please give me a call on 01245 353922 or 07788 299061, or e-mail [email protected]. 

Thank you,

Andy Griffiths, December 2011



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Fourth Church adopts Rolling Worship

12/1/2011

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First it was St John's Hillingdon in 2006 (slogan: "Come and Go Worship").  Then it was St Michael's Galleywood in 2010 ("Come when you can, leave when you like").  In 2011 there was Emmanuel Baptist Church in Swanage ("Come when you can, leave when you like", with the difference that the break between the sermon and the informal worship is only 5 minutes).  In 2012 Stopsley Parish Church in Luton joins the family (slogan: "Something for everyone"). 

Stopsley's scheme is:
Traditional Choral Communion (replacing their 8am service): 8.30-9.30
Breakfast: 9.30-10
Parish Communion with sermon and children's groups: 10-10.45
Refreshments: 10.45-11.15
Informal worship: 11.15-11.45

What do you think?  It's obviously a more eucharistic sort of church than we are, but we would profit from longer "slices"?  Why not leave a comment and give your views!
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"One goat made all the difference"

9/26/2011

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Thnk you to all those who gave so generously to provide goats for Kilimatinde at our harvest services yesterday.   We don't have full results yet, but several hundred pounds have been given - thank you.


Click here for an article about World Vision's earlier Nyasa project in which goats changed the local economy. 

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